Plata v. Newsom

In 2001, the Prison Law Office filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of every person incarcerated in CDCR who has a serious medical condition, because there were serious problems with medical care at every CDCR prison. In 2002, the federal court in the Plata case ordered CDCR to make major changes to medical care, and required that it follow specific written policies and procedures (links to current medical care rules and policies are below). In 2005, the federal court in Plata found that CDCR could not improve medical care on its own, and the court appointed an independent Receiver with authority over CDCR medical care. In 2009, a three-judge federal court determined that CDCR would be unable to provide constitutionally adequate health care so long as the prisons were grossly overcrowded, and ordered CDCR to reduce crowding statewide. In 2011, that order was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2015, the court ordered the Receiver to consider returning control of medical care at each prison back to CDCR; as of May 2025, the Receiver has done so for all except about five prisons, while retaining overall authority for care. We continue to monitor medical care in CDCR and advocate regarding issues both for individuals and systemically.